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Calculators and data

Work with Excel files in Claude

Most small business data lives in .xlsx and .csv files. You want answers from a spreadsheet in plain words, and a new file with the change made. No formulas.

Claude.ai can analyze spreadsheets with code execution. To work with .xlsx and .csv files by path in Claude Desktop, Cursor or VS Code, connect the Spreadsheet server: it reads, queries, adds columns and converts, and writes each result to a new file.

What you get

orders_q3.xlsx, net sales by region

Computed from all 3,412 rows, largest first

Table
RegionPLN
Mazowieckie1,284,300
3 more regions...
Opolskie96,420
Rows read3,412
Example from "Sales by region from a raw export". Invented names, real math from the tools.

Free to start. Spreadsheet Pro is $19 once. Free vs Pro

Without a tool, and with the tool

Without a tool

In Claude.ai with code execution, Claude can analyze an uploaded spreadsheet and create a new one. In Claude Desktop or Cursor without a tool, it can't open a file path on your disk, and large files may not fit in the chat.

With Spreadsheet

The Spreadsheet server reads, queries, searches and summarizes .xlsx and .csv files by path, adds computed columns and converts between xlsx, csv and json. Every change is written to a new file. The source file isn't changed.

An example, from prompt to finished file

Example scenarios built on the real tools of Spreadsheet. Names and amounts are invented.

Example · Shop owner on Shopify

Work with Excel files in Claude

You

Open ~/Downloads/orders_export.csv. Which 10 products sold the most units in October? Save that list as top-products.xlsx.

  1. sheet_info Reads the columns and row count
  2. sheet_query Filters October, groups by product, sorts by units
  3. sheet_write Writes the top 10 rows to top-products.xlsx
Result

A ranked top-10 list in chat and a new top-products.xlsx file. The original export is unchanged.

Example · Ewa Dabrowska, sales coordinator at a furniture maker in Bydgoszcz

Sales by region from a raw export

You

Open ~/Downloads/orders_q3.xlsx and give me total net sales in PLN by region, largest first.

  1. sheet_info Finds sheet Orders, 3,412 rows, columns region, net_pln, date
  2. sheet_query Groups by region, sums net_pln, sorts descending
Result

A 5-row table: Mazowieckie 1,284,300 PLN first, Opolskie 96,420 PLN last, computed from all 3,412 rows.

About 15 min saved (estimate)

Example · Graham Lewis, bookkeeper in Bristol

Find one invoice in a year of exports

You

Search ledger_2026.csv for INV-1187 and show me that row.

  1. sheet_find Finds INV-1187 at cell B2214 with a preview of the row
Result

The row with the 1,560.00 GBP amount and its posting date, without opening Excel.

About 5 min saved (estimate)

Every example here works on the free tier. One $39 key removes the limits on all of them. Pricing

Common mistakes with this job

  • Editing the only copy of a file and losing the original data.
  • Treating dates stored as text as real dates, so filters miss rows.
  • Asking for totals on a column that mixes currencies.

Connect in 1 minute

Paste one URL into Claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code or Windsurf. No install, no account.

1. Get a free token (30 days, 600 calls an hour)

curl -s -X POST https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/token

2. Paste this URL as a custom connector

https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/spreadsheet/t/<token>

Or run it locally (Node.js 18+)

npx -y @theluckystrike/mcp-spreadsheet

Free vs Pro for Spreadsheet

Free ($0, no key)Pro ($19 once)
Read files up to 5 MB and 5,000 rows (larger files return the first 5,000 rows with a note)No read limit up to the 50 MB file ceiling
Write up to 500 rows per fileNo write row limit
All sheets, formats and expressions
Where these limits come from

servers/spreadsheet/src/sheet.ts:14-16 (FREE_MAX_ROWS=5000, FREE_MAX_BYTES=5 MB, FREE_WRITE_ROWS=500); servers/spreadsheet/src/index.ts:102,122; https://mcp.zovo.one/s/spreadsheet

Questions

Can I do this in Claude?
Claude.ai can analyze spreadsheets with code execution. To work with .xlsx and .csv files by path in Claude Desktop, Cursor or VS Code, connect the Spreadsheet server: it reads, queries, adds columns and converts, and writes each result to a new file.
Does it change my original file?
No. New columns and conversions go to a new file unless you point out_path at the original.
What happens over the free limit?
Reads return the first 5,000 rows with a note. Writes over 500 rows write nothing and say so, so you never get a partial file.
Does it need Excel installed?
No. It reads and writes xlsx and csv itself, with no native dependency.

Related jobs

Claude for small business: all jobs

Spreadsheet Pro: $19 once

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